Well hello again my family and loved ones

Well hello again my family and loved ones. I sure hope everything is going swell. from last I´ve heard of home is the same old home so maybe I'm not missing out on too much. I feel like I can´t think of anything funny or interesting to say but I really just think I'm getting accustomed to how crazy Ecuador is. I will start keeping track of funny stories and crazy things that happen to me to spice up my emails a little bit from now on. 

But as for

missionary work, since I am in one of the hardest areas in the mission, we only really have one family that is really progressing and really interested. Its so hard to get families because there is always that one person in the family that has to talk bad to the rest of the family how they have their own religion and don´t need us. It gets frustrating sometimes. or only one person in the family wants to listen so we have to teach outside their house because the rest of the family is there. Its tough, but as for this family, its a family of one mother named veronica and her 4 girls. they are way cool except one daughter is apparently training to be a teacher in the iglesia evangelica.. So hopefully she will change her mind when her mom and sisters are baptized!

We had fast Sunday yesterday, which I love because I get to hear the testimonies of soo many wonderful people. Its really cool because although there are about 1/4 the people in the church here as there are back home, there is never a time when someone is not sharing their testimony and sacrament always goes over like 15 minutes every fast Sunday because people keep walking up. The people down here have the strongest testimonies and love this gospel so much. I love the members, Now all I got to do is make more of them!

I´m going to leave one of my favorite scriptures with you all this week, its simple, everyone knows it but its powerful.

1 nephi 3:7

I know The lord will always provide away for you to accomplish the things He asks if you are willing to give up your will for His. I also know his way His the best way and He wants to bless you more then you can think.    

Sept. 22, 2014 This place called Guayaquil is bien chevere! (really cool:)

¡Hola!
This place called Guayaquil is bien chevere! really cool:) and I am loving the mission. It definitely has its ups and downs but it gets better the more you learn to rely on the lord. They members here are probably what help get me by I love them so much. Every time I here them bare their testimonies I feel the spirit so strong its amazing to see how The Lord is working in the world today. Everybody here is so nice and friendly and it really breaks my heart seeing so many good people reject the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If only they knew what we truly were offering them. I have met so many good people and its going to break my heart when the day comes and I have to move on.

It seems like we always have more success when we work with members because walking around knocking on doors and getting appointments hasn't really been working because when we show up to appointments they never remember or just tell us how they are catholic. But I love the mish and I love the people.

For all the newer missionaries than me, always remember... IT GETS BETTER,  it truly does!! For everyone back home, I want to ask you to think of one person that maybe you haven't been getting along with and truly say a prayer and ask your father in heaven to help you to make the relationship stronger. My testimony of prayer has strengthened a ton and I know yours will to the more you talk to your Father in Heaven.

Elder Rawson

Love my happy Missionary!

Now I see why I don't get his weekly email until later in the day on his P-day!
I'm glad to see him getting to explore and have some fun!!

I think I'm not too worried about him starving by the looks of this!!! :)

Sept. 15, 2014

Hola familia y amigos!! Yo extraño a todos de ustedes!!! I miss all of you! Pero no voy a volver a la casa porque la mision es muy divertida! But I´m not going to come back home because the mission is too fun! (Please don´t judge me if i ever make mistakes in Spanish:))  

I am starting to get used to this whole mission life. We had two baptisms on Saturday! I baptized them both, Valeria and David! Valeria is the one with the baby and her and Nery finally got married on Tuesday so they were ready for baptism, finally after months and months!! As for David, he is 12 years old but is AMAZING! He has been sooo excited to join the church. He is probably one of the smartest kids I've ever met and probably already knows the lessons better than me just because he spends so much time studying. It was cool to see the biggest smile on his face as he walked down to the waters of baptism. Its sad because he lives with his mom but she doesn´t want much to do with the church. I keep telling David to be an example to his mom and he is doing well. He gets her to pray and study with him sometimes. But I´m learning a lot and Still have a lot to learn! Keep me in your prayers as well as the rest of the missionaries you know because they really do help! I don´t have that much time but I love each and everyone of you!

2 Nephi 4

Elder Rawson:)    

SEPT. 8TH 2014

This week has definitely been my fastest week yet! I can´t believe it is already Pday again! But I think I'm starting to get more accustomed to the Ecuadorian mission life! The Spanish is coming and my prayers have been answered because I can actually understand what people are talking about now! But has for missionary work, It is pretty hard down here because the people are sooo lazy. Everybody wants to here about Jesus but no body wants to go to church, read, pray or nothing. But we have two baptisms this week. One is this cool kid named David. He is 12 and is super interested in everything about the church. the other kids his age have had a huge impact on him on getting him to mutual and attending church. He lives with his mom is isn't really too interested in doing anything but she listens when we go teach David. Hopefully we can get her to crack. but I'm pretty sure she isn't doing very good stuff because we went over to her house thingy with the bishop when David was at mutual and she had a *friend over and he was over laying on the bed. and she wouldn't shake our hands..... ewe.  but that's the reason there are missionaries in the world! 

The other girl we are baptizing this week we have been spending a long time on and even the missionaries that were here before us because she has been living with this guy named Nery and he is a member but less active and they have a baby. We have been trying to get them married for a while but they haven't had the money for it so me and elder Cook put in some of our own personal money and the relief society president helped also. so they should be getting married today or tomorrow. then Valeria (the girl) should be ready for baptism! So that's cool. The bishop is pushing for us missionaries and the members to start working together. I think this is good because we will be a lot more successful and convenient because the members can drive us places too:) The walking has definitely gotten to me at times! 

But I love all you! Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming because they have definitely helped!

Elder Rawson:) <3

new pictures added Sept. 1, 2014

I think he's enjoying a little alone time in the shower lol!!!

Week 3 in Ecuador/ Sept. 1 2014

Heyyyyyyyy people, I miss all you and I want you all to know that the mission is one of the coolest things I will ever do.

I´m not going to lie, at first it was easy to have a negative attitude at times and pretty difficult to fight it. i noticed i was spending my time looking at the bad things of my mission. The garbage covering the streets, the awful smell that is everywhere i go, i miss my family and loved ones. And then I started to count my blessings here. The people here are sooooo nice. they are so fun and i love being with them. the food is way good, i thought i would get sick of rice pretty fast but i love it! There is a ton of soups and pretty much every kind of juice you can think of! we only really get fed every day at lunch  and other  that we are on our own. 

But I´m going to throw in that I have the coolest mission president! Elder Riggins is probably the best speaker I have ever listened to. We had this thing last night where we all went to the stake center and listened to him talk with all the missionaries in our zone then we all brought a bunch of people from our wards like investigators and new converts. He is very funny and super powerful! 

As for the Spanish it is getting better for sure! I can pretty much understand enough to the point that I know that everyone is talking about and carry on some decent conversations. So that´s all good!

So this one time we were on our way over to this girls house that we found a few days earlier and we saw a GIANT iguana! it wasn't running away when we got close so my companion Elder Cook picked it up, then that thing FLIPPED OUT!  I got some pretty funny picks of it when it happened and put them on drop box. Elder Cooks arms got pretty cut up from the claws though so that was too bad. now people always ask him what happened when they see his arms!

But I'm loving the mission. sometimes its tough because everybody here already has a religion. they are either católico, evangélico, testigos de jehovah, o ...mormon. and these people are all active in there churches so when we invite our investigators to our church they all say they cant because they go to their church at the same time! everybody is so welcome to talk about Jesus but our lessons usually end up with them talking to us the whole time just preaching their beliefs and religion. the people here definitely like talking more than listening. But all is well.

Tomorrow me and Elder Cook are getting a couple married then baptizing the wife this Saturday and then we have another grandma that was supposed to get baptized last week but she was never home so we couldn't give her the interview. but this week we will make sure it happens. we have two other kids about our age that have agreed to be baptized so that's good. but we need to teach their whole family so they can have the support of the parents and maybe convert them too.:)But I´m looking forward to my mission and what crazy things are yet to come! Love and miss you all!!

Elder Rawson/spidey